Hilda Solis

This action was criticized by Hispanics and others, and only two members of Congress, Barbara Boxer and Loretta Sanchez, supported her. Martínez was more conservative than many of his constituents, as he had supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), opposed gun control, and supported bans on specific abortion procedures. He was also criticized for lacking effort and neglecting his district. Solis was able to obtain the support of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (which called her a "warrior for working families"), Emily's List, Handgun Control Incorporation, the Sierra Club and the California League of Conservation Voters. With their help, Solis outspent Martínez by a 4-to-1 margin and had hundreds of volunteers working for her. Read Less

She had previously broken ties with the caucus' political action committee over its campaign contributions to Baca's sons. Baca responded that Solis "was a kiss-up" to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a remark for which he later apologized. Solis was indeed considered a close ally of Pelosi, which helped her get a seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee. She considered running for the position of Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman for the 110th Congress, but deferred to incumbent John Larson after Rahm Emanuel chose to run for caucus chair, which Larson had been running for. Solis's aggressive fundraising for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee gained her a vice chair position on the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee. At the time of her selection to Obama's cabinet, she had been elected 2nd vice chair of the Hispanic Caucus and was considered a potential candidate for a leadership position in the House. Read Less

Solis was born in Los Angeles, California as the daughter of immigrant parents who had met in citizenship class and married in 1953: Juana Sequeira (b. 1926, from Nicaragua) and Raul Solis (from Mexico). Her father was a Teamsters shop steward in Mexico and after coming to the U.S. worked at the Quemetco battery recycling plant in the City of Industry in the San Gabriel Valley. There he again organized for the Teamsters, to gain better health care benefits for workers, but also contracted lead poisoning. Her mother worked for over 20 years on the assembly line of Mattel once her children were all of school age, belonged to the United Rubber Workers, and was outspoken about working conditions. She stressed the importance of education and was a devout Roman Catholic.<br /><br /> Hilda Solis is the third oldest of seven siblings (four sisters, two brothers) and grew up in a tract home in La Puente, California. She had to help raise her youngest siblings, and later said of her childhood: "It wasn't what you would call the all-American life for a young girl growing up. We had to mature very quickly." She graduated from La Puente High School, where she saw a lack of support for those wishing to continue their education, including a guidance counselor who told her mother that “Your daughter is not college material. Maybe she should follow the career of her older sister and become a secretary.” However, another counselor did encourage her to attend college, and even went to her house to help her fill out an application. Read Less

In her first major speech as secretary, Solis pleased community forum attendees at Miami's Greater Bethel AME Church by vowing more aggressive enforcement of workplace protection laws, saying "You can rest assured that there is a new sheriff in town." Read Less